Process of recovering crude oil



|.- S. JOSEPH.

PROCESS OF RECOVERING CRUDE OIL.

APPLICATI.ON FILED APR.29| I919.

Patented Dec. M, 1920.

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a W M W W,

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e'ring Crude Oil, of

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

mwms. JOSEPH, or KAQHWAYLINEW JEEsEY.

- PROCESS OF RECOVERING CRUDE OIL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. [14, 1920.-

I A1ip1ica.ti on fi1ed Apri1 29, 1919. Serial m. 293,443:

-way,.in the county of Union and :State of New Jersey, haveinventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Processesof Recovs whichthe following s a specification. p

, 'My invention relates to a process for repart of this specificaion,'illustrate diagrammatically forms of apparatus for carrying aoutthe described process,

covering crude oil from cut oil or from B. S. (bottom settlings or badstock) which is a mixture found in the bottom of crude oil tanks andcontains inter o'lz'a water, crude oil and usually also-solid orsemi-solid material or sediment. The mixture is pract cally an emulsionfrom which the ingredients do not readily separate by-gr'av ty. My.process comprises the subjection of cut oil or S.to' centrifugal action,either, and preferably beforeremoval of thesolid matter, or after thesolid matter has been wholly or in part removed.

The accompanyin drawings, forming-a and in which Figure 1 representsdiagrammatically,

' means for heatingthe S., means for removing the sediment therefrom,and a centrifugal separator. i 1

Fi 2 is a 'sectional elevation of my special orm of separating device.

In Fig. 1 is a shown a tank 1, apipe 2 'having'a valve 6 leading intothe tankfor 35.

the purpose of delivering B, S. to the tank. In the tank 1 is arrangedasuitable heating ucoil 3', which is supplied with steam from anysuitable source. The outlet pipe 4 from the tank Ileads into a suitableapparatus pipe.

5 for removin the solid matter or sediment "which theB. may contain.This apparatus 5 may be a simple settling tank or a filter press or acentrifugal device.

trollingrthe fiow of the mixture through this rom the'ap'paratus 5 leadsa pipe 7 provided with a valve 9 through which the mixture can bedelivered into a centrifugal machine 8. The pipe 7 leads the mixtureinto thehollow shaft 10' ofthe centrifugal. machine which shaft issubjected to a rapid rotation. From the shaft 10 the mixture passes outbetween the disks 11, to which is .imparted a rapid whirling motionaround a vertical axis. By the centrifugal action the mixture of B. S.is separated'into its constituents tinuous stream from the passage 12,and the crude oil passes off into the continuous stream from ferfitoheat the mixture before subjecting the passage 13. While I preit to thetreatmenteither in the apparatus 5 or in the centrifugal, this heatingis not made for taking care of the solid. or semisolid material orsediment which. may be separated'outfrom the'B. S. mixture. Because ofthe presence of'this'solid-material and the water flows off in aconprevious forms of centrifugal separators have not been suitable foruse since unless special provi'sion isv made for its removal, thesediment accumulates and in a short time chokes the machine andnecessitates its stoppage for cleaning. This difficulty I overcome byproviding means for introducing liquid heavier than the crude oilconstituent in such manner as to. flush or float out the material whichtends to deposit or adhere tothe wall of the centrifugal.

The apparatus as shown in Fig. 2 consists of a bowl having an uppermember 15 and a lower member 16 which are secured together in anysuitable manner. I Inside of the bowl are-placed a series of disks 17..Inside the disks is a hollow shaft 18 having openings or slots 18permitting the fiow of liquid into the spaces between the disks. Insideof the hollow shaft 18 is another hollow shaft 19 which connects withthe passage 20 at the bottom of the bowl, this passage extending outaround the inner sides thereof to a point at a greater distance from thecenter than any other inside part of the bowl. Between the forced withsuch velocity up through the space 21 that it flushes or floats out anymate rial or sediment which would otherwise tend to deposit on the innerwall of the bowl 16 disks 17 and the inner wall of the bowl member 16 isa space 21 of considerable car I v In the pipe 4 is 'a valve 6' for thepurpose of conand carries this material oil at the outlet 22, togetherwith any associated heavy liquid constituent of the mixture. By thisarrangement, the inner Walls of the bowl member 16 are kept freefromsediment and the apparatus Will operate continuously over anindefinite period of time: In this machine the Water separated from themixture together With the water coming through the passage 20 and thesediment from space 21 pass off through the outlet 22 While theseparated crude oil passes. off at the outlet 23.

The special details of the centrifugal separator have not beenillustrated as they are Well known in the art and need not be speciallydescribed.

IVhile I have specified Water as the heavier ,liquid introduced throughthe pipe 19, other suitable liquids may be substituted therefor.Although I have shown a special form of centrifugal separator,.theprinciple of introducing a heavier liquid for flushing purposes isobviously capable of application in other types of-centrifugalseparating devices. So also, the same method may be aptures of liquid ofdi'fl'erent specific gravities. I claim:

1. The, process of recovering crude oil from-B. S. and the like whichconsists in subjecting the B. S.,to centrifugal action under conditionscausing the constituents ofdiffere-nt gravity to move along differentpaths and subjecting a fluid, substantially as-heavy' as the heavierconstituent, to centrifugal action underconditions causing the fluid tomove along the path of the said heavier constituent with a velocitygreater than that of the latter. a a a 2. The process of recoveringcrude oil from B. S. and the like Which consists in subjecting the B. b.to centrifugal action under conditions causing the constituents ofdifferent gr'avityto' move along differe'ntpaths and subjecting Water tocentrifugalaction under conditions causingit to move along thepath ofthe heavier constituent with a velocity greater than that of the latter.

In testimony whereof I afiix my si nature. IRWIN S. J OS PH. I

plicable to other forms of emulsions or mix-

